


Till Death Us Do Part

by irrelevanttous



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, JaliceWeek20, Quarantine, Spanish flu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:19:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27179807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irrelevanttous/pseuds/irrelevanttous
Summary: Bonus Day of Jaliceweek 2020: QuarantineIn 1918, Alice Brandon's father hires the son of a local farmer to supply his family with food and the bare necessities while the family is stuck in quarantine.
Relationships: Alice Cullen/Jasper Hale
Comments: 16
Kudos: 24
Collections: Jalice Week 2020





	Till Death Us Do Part

**Author's Note:**

> And we're done, my loves. This is the last day of Jaliceweek2020. It was so much fun, challenging myself to write so much and try to come up with so many different ideas. Even though I didn't do every day, a lot of words were written, haha. Prepare yourselves for this one, it's angsty again, suprise, suprise. 
> 
> I want to thank my wifey @tragicallywicked for hosting this event. As I said, it was so much fun! Can't wait for the next event.

_\- 1918 -_

She met him two weeks after she’d cheated death.

Her household was still constrained to their own four walls, even after the doctors had declared her fully recovered and healthy again. Her father was not pleased about that; he didn’t like that he could not go to work. Alice knew he blamed her for it, though he had not said it in so many words. But the silence he was punishing her with, not even acknowledging her when she spoke at the breakfast table, was proof enough.

The only good thing her illness had brought about, was that she was now immune to the disease. At least if the words of the doctors and nurses were true.

Because she was the only one in her family who had been sick, she would from now on have to be their contact to the outside world.

Her father had hired the son of a local farmer to supply them with food, milk, as well as the other bare necessities for the next few weeks. Alice was glad her family could afford it. Every day, the newspaper showed pages and pages of names of people who hadn’t been so lucky.

On this first day after she had returned from the hospital, the knock on the door announced the arrival of their first food delivery at noon sharp.

He was punctual, at least.

After her family had scattered – her mother had to carry Cynthia out of the room, because the poor girl was too young to understand how diseases worked and longed for some diversion – Alice walked to the door and swung it open. In truth, her sister wasn’t the only one who was bored. She herself longed for some distraction as well. The last few weeks had been awful, when her hands had been too weak to even feed herself, let alone read a book or do anything even remotely interesting.

As she opened the door, she found herself face to face with the boy her father had hired to go to the shops for them. Alice had never seen him before – he was from a different social class after all, and it was improper for a young lady to interact with boys like him. The first thing she noticed was that he was tall – taller than all the boys she was acquainted with in the neighbourhood, possibly even taller than her father. He had blond, shoulder-length hair, which he – thankfully – seemed to have washed before he’d come to their house.

At the sight of her, his eyes widened, and he hastily took off his – dirty, grubby – hat, holding it in front of his chest. Alice wondered why he was so dumbfounded by her appearance and looked down at herself. But no, she wasn’t dressed improperly; she had her favourite blue dress on, the one mother had bought her last summer for her birthday.

The boy still seemed to struggle with finding words.

Great. Not only was he uneducated, but he was also dumb as well.

Alice gave him an impatient, annoyed look, and raised her eyebrow.

“Well?” she said. “Do you have it?”

Her words reminded him why he was here in the first place and he started nodding eagerly. “Forgive me, ma’am. Of course.”

He pointed at the basket on the steps in front of her, which she hadn’t noticed until now, covered by a white piece of cloth. The boy himself kept a careful distance, at least smart enough to know it would be wise to stay away from her.

“You didn’t touch anything, did you?” Alice couldn’t bite back the question.

The boy – who was probably her age or a little older – frowned at her words. “No, ma’am.” And then he added, with a slightly annoyed undertone, “I’ve read the newspapers, you know. I know how it spreads.”

That confused her. “You know how to read?”

His cheeks flushed at her statement and he brought his chin up. “Of course.” Clearly, he was irritated now. “My father taught me.”

This time, Alice was the one blushing. She hadn’t meant to offend him, hadn’t even thought about her words all that much. But he could hardly blame her. Most of the farm boys did not know how to read, after all.

Eager to get this conversation over with, she said, “Wait, I’ll get you the money,” and without giving him another look, she went inside again, and grabbed the bills her father had laid out on the kitchen table. While she returned to the door, she wondered how she could give the money to him without risking his health.

But he seemed to already have a plan for that, because as soon as she reappeared in the doorframe, he stepped forward a little, holding his bag open. “Just drop it in there. I won’t touch it for the next few days.”

She shot a glance at him with a frown, not sure if that was enough to make it safe. When he saw her expression, he had the audacity to _laugh_ at her.

“Miss, if the newspapers can be trusted, it doesn’t survive on surfaces for too long. A few days, if at all.”

For some reason, his know-it-all attitude agitated her.

“Fine,” she snapped. “It’s your life.”

Alice stepped forward quickly, pushing the money into his outstretched bag and snatched the basket, careful not to touch the handle. Then, she walked back into her house without looking at him again. Inside, while she kicked the door shut more forcefully than she’d intended, she let out a groan.

God, she would have to deal with this insufferable boy for the next two weeks, likely even longer.

What did she do to deserve this?

The farmer’s son returned the next day at the same time and Alice tried to be more polite this time. Her mother had overheard her conversation with him yesterday and had lectured her about her tone: she was not allowed to be so rude to someone the family depended on during these trying times. And while she was lying in her bed last night, Alice had had to admit that her mother had a point. She’d even felt a little ashamed.

So that day, she greeted him in a more friendly manner. “Good day.” Only then did she realise she did not even know his name.

This time, he’d already taken off his hat and gave her a bright smile. “Good morning, Miss Brandon.”

Of course, _he_ knew who she was.

“What’s your name, boy?”

“It’s Jasper.”

Alice nodded. “How much is it today?”

The boy – Jasper – gave her another, knowing smile. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

His words didn’t make any sense and she stared at him. “Why would I remember you?”

The smile didn’t leave his face. “Never mind.”

She tried to ask him a few more times, but Jasper only smiled at her in return, not giving away anything.

That was how things continued between them during the next few days. Jasper would bring them food and supplies; Alice would question him where he knew her from, without ever receiving an answer. But after the second week, she had to admit she was beginning to enjoy them, these conversations with him. She caught herself drawing out their encounters, just wanting to spend more time with him.

She had been wrong about him initially; he was not dumb or uneducated at all. Jasper had told her that his father had made a point teaching him things and had always told him that he would get nowhere in life without an education.

One day, after she and Jasper had spoken about a book she recently read, Alice snitched it from her father’s library and gave it to him. Jasper was hesitant when he accepted it, not wanting to get her into trouble, but she just shrugged it off. She avoided telling him that her father didn’t trust her anyway and that he was always looking for reasons to punish her no matter how well behaved she was.

After the initial two weeks of her family’s quarantine was over, her parents decided – after reading in the newspaper about the increased spread of the virus in the region – to extend Jasper’s services for at least two more weeks. Alice was delighted by this development, even though she tried to hide her smile at the dinner table when her father announced the news to the family. Her parents, that much she was sure of, would not appreciate her fondness for the farmer’s boy.

When he showed up the next day, she was already waiting for him on the steps in front of the entrance. At some point during the last two weeks, she had started to close the door whenever she talked to him. It was improper, and she knew it, to talk to a boy from a different – lower – class without a chaperone, but she had simply stopped caring.

“Jasper,” she greeted him with a cheerful tone.

She could see his smile as soon as he opened the garden gate and it made her heart flutter for some reason.

“Why, hello, Miss Brandon.” As always, he lifted his hat at the sight of her. “What did I do to deserve this welcoming committee?”

She blushed, realising it was inappropriate to show how excited she was to see him. “Please tell me you got the cake I asked you for.”

“Oh, I got it.” His grin was wide, and she wondered – not for the first time – if there were ever any moments when he _didn’t_ smile. “I had to wait for an hour to get into that shop, but I managed to get it for you.”

Alice’s eyes widened. “An hour? If I had known, I wouldn’t have –”

“Don’t worry about it. It was my pleasure.”

She sat down on the stairs and motioned him to join her. As usual, Jasper walked over and sat down on the other side of the staircase, keeping a careful distance. He did this every time, and she always wondered whether it was due to the threat of the disease looming in the air or for propriety reasons.

When he looked at her again, Alice frowned at him a little accusingly.

“You should not risk your health for something as mundane as cake. Doesn’t matter who asks. Besides, I told you not to worry about it if it was too difficult.”

His smile turned wry. “I wanted to get the cake for you, Miss Brandon. I wanted to make you…”

He stopped, frowning, but Alice had a feeling that the word nearly slipping over his lips right there would have been ‘happy’.

“Well, you shouldn’t,” she said, but was oddly touched.

“All right, ma’am, the next time you ask me to get something for you, I won’t.”

They both knew he was lying, though.

On that day, Jasper stayed for longer than usual, their conversation lasting nearly an hour. Alice still didn’t know how he knew who she was, or where she could possibly remember him from, but the truth was that she didn’t care anymore.

She liked him, there was no denying it.

It was a strange feeling; although her parents had introduced her to many young men at social events since she’d turned sixteen last year, she had never liked any of them or had even felt attracted to them in any way. Somehow, it was different with Jasper. Alice couldn’t help noticing that he was very handsome, especially when he smiled. Which, admittedly, he almost always did whenever they were together.

Her father was upset with her on that day, telling her it was improper to spend so much time talking to the help. He even struck her, making her nose bleed, which was a common occurrence these days.

She could not do much to hide the bruise on her face, so the following day, Jasper asked her what had happened. Alice knew it was expected of her to lie about these matters, but she couldn’t bring herself to. Not to him.

So she just shrugged it off. “Father wasn’t pleased that we spent so much time talking yesterday.”

It was the first time his smile disappeared from his face for a longer period. Despite her reassurances that it was all right for him to stay a bit longer, he excused himself after a few minutes, telling her he could not bear it if she got into trouble because of him.

Before that day, Alice had never cried over a boy, but she did then.

And she cried herself to sleep that night, too.

But Jasper was back the next day, wearing a look of determination on his face. When she asked him what that was about, he avoided the question and excused himself early again. Alice was beginning to wonder if perhaps she had imagined that closeness, that bond between them.

Thus, she was even more surprised when, two days later, he walked towards her, that same look of resolve on his face.

“Alice,” he said. It was the first time he’d called her by her first name. It felt exciting somehow, as if he was tearing down an unspoken barrier between them. To her utmost surprise, he went down on his knees then, presenting her with a tiny little box.

“Will you marry me?”

All she could do was stare at him.

“Have you lost your mind?”

He seemed to have expected this sort of reaction. “I’ve loved you ever since I’ve known you, Alice. Which, as you can’t seem to remember, was back when we were kids. You used to come to our farm with your mother, can’t you recall? We used to play together in the stables, or by the river, or in the woods. My father always punished me for that, taking a young little lady to these places, he said it was indecent, but I never cared. And…” he stopped for a second, taking in a deep breath, “I know I’m… asking a lot. Your father would most likely disinherit you, and your family will think it’s shameful, but… we could go somewhere. We could run away.”

“Jasper –”

“Just think about it, please. I know you feel it, too. What’s between us. I love you, Alice, and I can make you happy, I know I can.”

She finally remembered them at that moment, all these childhood memories. Back then, she’d been too young to understand that spending time with someone from a lower class would be frowned upon by society. She also hadn’t been aware that the boy she’d played with so many times had been Jasper, but now it all made sense.

And she had to admit that his offer was tempting.

But she could not abandon her family; her mother and sister needed her in these dark times.

“Jasper… I can’t.”

He rose to his feet then, his expression strangely composed. “Why not? Do you not feel the same way?” Another thought seemed to cross his mind. “Is there someone else?”

“No!” she said quickly, shaking her head. “No. And I… do feel the same way. But it’s simply not possible.”

“Why?” His tone was hurt now. “If you are worried about the money, I can work –”

“I don’t care about the money,” she interrupted him. “I don’t care what proper society would think, either. It’s not that. But… my family. I can’t leave them behind. They need me right now.”

Her words seemed to restore some hope in him because his eyes looked up again, meeting hers. “So… when all this…” – he gestured around vaguely, but she knew what he meant – the _pandemic_ , “… is over, you’ll marry me?”

She was still staring at him, still trying to come to terms with the fact that he actually seemed to _want_ to marry her. All these other boys her parents had tried to set her up with had been gone as soon as they’d started to ask around about her; as it turned out, a girl who claimed to be able to see the future was _not_ the best candidate for a future match.

“If you knew everything about me, you wouldn’t want to marry me, believe me.”

He shook his head. “If you’re talking about… your gift… I don’t care about that. On the contrary, I think it’s amazing.”

“How do you even know about that?”

Jasper looked embarrassed for the first time. “People talk.” And when he saw her face, he made sure to add, “But I’ve never believed you to be insane, I swear. I think you’re… extraordinary. Special.”

His words made her blush. “I’ve never met anybody who called me… _that_.”

His smile returned, even softer than before. “I can make you happy, Alice. I promise. Say yes.”

And then, though she had no idea what came over her, she gave in. “Yes. When all of this is over, I’ll marry you. We’ll run away together.”

Jasper looked happier than she’d ever seen him and her heart nearly burst with joy at the sight. He stole a little kiss, then, after carefully checking that they were hidden from view of the street and the windows of her house. Alice had never kissed a boy before and she had not expected it to feel this good.

When he broke away after a few seconds – far too early for her taste – he gave her a last grin. “I have to go. I don’t want your father to get angry or suspicious. But I’ll be back tomorrow, my love.”

She could only nod, too caught up in the memory of that kiss to find words. With one last smile, Jasper walked away, closing the garden gate behind him, leaving her with her stomach full of butterflies and her heart full of hope.

However, he did not come the next day. Or the day after. Or the day after that. By the third day, she was nearly sick with worry.

Had he changed his mind? Had her father – or his, for that matter – found out about their engagement? Alice was sure her father would never allow such a union to happen, but would he go so far as actually… _hurting_ Jasper?

She was still not allowed to leave the house, but after the fourth day of his disappearance, she could not stay idle any longer. She had to know where he was, that he was safe and well. So she snuck out that night, walking all the way to his farm on foot. His father opened the door, staring at her with disbelief.

“Miss Brandon? What leads you –”

“I’m looking for your son, Jasper. Is he here?”

The old farmer gave her a sorrowful look. “He isn’t, no. They took him away, yesterday.”

“Took him away?” Her voice was nearly a shriek, full of panic. She could see his eyes narrowing, but couldn’t bring herself to care about that right now. “Took him where? And who did?”

“Well, the authorities, of course, young lady. The boy caught the flu.”

Alice felt as if the ground was collapsing underneath her feet. Jasper was sick… with the flu. She shuddered at the memory of her own disease. She’d managed to beat it, but barely. And there were so many other people out there who hadn’t survived it. The newspaper had named it “the deadliest disease since the plague” only this morning. Jasper, that much was for sure, was in grave danger.

“Where did they take him?”

The man shrugged. “I dunno, ma’am. Didn’t say.”

She stared at him incredulously. Jasper had told her that his father was strict and did not care about him all that much, but to hear about his disinterest in his son’s wellbeing with her own ears was a different story.

“Please, Sir, you must know something?”

“Somewhere in Biloxi, I guess. Forgive me, that’s all I know.”

When the tears started to well up in her eyes, she turned around, not giving the man another look. She ran back the entire way, ignoring how her sides hurt with the exhaustion. All she knew was that she had to find him. She had to be there for him. And since she had recovered from the disease herself, she was likely the best person to do so. He _had to_ recover when she was there to nurse him back to health.

So she looked for him. Asked for him at every hospital in the area. She could not bear the thought that she might be responsible for his illness. After all, the reason he had been roaming around town in the first place, was to buy food and supplies for her and her family.

And then finally, after a whole week of worries, crying herself to sleep every night, and searching, she found him. While the nurse had technically not been allowed to give out patient information to non-family members, she had certainly changed her mind when Alice had handed her the dollar bills she’d stolen from the drawer in her father’s study. She knew she would be in big trouble once he discovered that they were missing, but this was far more important.

She volunteered right there and then, and after a short introduction, they allowed her to tend to the patients. Alice had expected the whole thing to be far more difficult, but the hospital was overwhelmed with the number of patients, and doctors and nurses were willing to take all the help they could get. It also helped when she told them that she’d already had the flu and had recovered from it.

After a short search, she found his bed. The first thing she noticed was how miserable he looked since the last time she’d seen him. His skin was pale as death and he seemed to have lost a lot of weight during the two weeks of his illness. It scared her, seeing him like this, so weak and so obviously close to death.

Jasper didn’t notice her at first, when she sat down next to him on his bedside, taking his hand. Another thing she had read in the newspaper a few days ago, was that the virus was far more deadly for young people, because it ravaged their stronger immune systems. The knowledge didn’t exactly encourage her. The normal flu, and he - as a healthy young man - probably would have recovered by now. Instead, she was worried if he already stood in the grave with one foot.

“Jas,” she said quietly and ran her fingers over his hand, hoping to give him a sign that she was here, that everything would be all right.

His eyelids fluttered open at the sound of her voice and he even managed a small smile.

“Alice.” The weakness in his voice startled her. “You came.”

“Shh, don’t talk. Yes, I’m here. I’m going to take care of you.” It was a promise and she tried to believe in it, but she could tell that he did not.

“If I die –”

“Don’t say that. You won’t. You will be fine.” Her tears – if he could see them through the haze of his fever – gave away how afraid she really was. “We’re going to get married, remember? And get out of here.”

He nodded, before he drifted back off into unconsciousness. She sat with him for the rest of the day, not caring what her family would think about her absence.

Alice returned to see him every day after that. But Jasper didn’t get any better. Instead, things only got worse. When at some point, he started coughing blood, she started to _really_ get scared out of her wits. There was no way she could lose him, but she was beginning to fear he would not survive. She tried to prevent it with pure stubbornness, spending hours at his bedside, making sure he ate, wiping away the sweat from his forehead, making sure he was comfortable. All around her, people kept dying and were transported away wrapped in white linens. She didn’t want to know what happened to the bodies, could not stand the thought that he might be next.

On a particularly bad day, she ran into Jasper’s doctor when she was leaving. She only wanted to go home to get changed and clean herself after having been at the hospital all day long. Alice was afraid that Jasper would not survive the night if she wasn’t there. Perhaps it was superstition, but she felt as if her presence by his side would prevent that from happening.

His doctor was an extraordinarily handsome, blond man. She had liked him immediately after meeting him, for his calm and collected attitude. Some of the other doctors seemed to almost work in a frenzy, their panic and overextension obvious on their faces. Something was different about this doctor.

“Sir?” she said, causing him to look up from the patient file he was holding in his hands. “Forgive me for bothering you, but I… can I ask you something?”

The doctor gave her a curious look. “What can I do for you?”

“My… fiancé is over there.” She pointed to Jasper’s bed. “I have to run home quickly and get changed, and I’m afraid that… I think he might… I –” Alice broke off, angry at herself for crying again.

“He isn’t feeling well today, is he?” the doctor offered, and she nodded. That was an understatement and they both knew it.

“I’m afraid, if I leave him here alone…”

The doctor nodded again, understanding.

Alice still added, her voice sounding so desperate, so hopeless, “I can’t lose him. I just can’t. Please, Sir, don’t let him die!”

The doctor frowned at her words; his golden eyes full of an emotion she couldn’t pinpoint. Perhaps it was pity, perhaps… something else.

“I will do my best, ma’am,” he promised, and she nodded in relief, vowing she would be back shortly. The whole way back, she sprinted, not able to forget that strange look in the doctor’s eyes.

When she returned to the hospital an hour later, Jasper was gone.

She was panicking as soon as she saw his empty bed. For hours, she looked everywhere for him or the blond, handsome doctor she had tasked with looking after him, but couldn’t find either of them. When, finally, one of the nurses told her that Jasper Whitlock had been reported deceased on her list, Alice’s knees gave in. It was the only peace she would ever find after finding out about his death, in the sweet darkness of nothingness.

For the next two years, Alice’s life did not improve; on the contrary. Her visions were as strong as ever and after her mother’s death, her father seemed unwilling to tolerate them – or her – any longer. She was carted off to the asylum, where her mind was destroyed more and more by the electroshock treatments. But Alice didn’t mind so much. The memories were too painful to stand, and the treatments, with the amnesia which followed them, were a relief. Her mother was gone, Jasper was gone; she had lost her sweet little sister to her new stepmother. Her father had been responsible for her mother's death.

No, Alice did not care to remember.

When she awoke, she _could_ not remember. The first thing she saw was not the sunlight falling through the trees in the meadow. Nor was it the grass and wildflowers surrounding her.

It was _his_ face, and yet she didn’t recognize him. His eyes were red, but Alice didn’t know what that meant, either. She didn’t know what she was. All she knew was that he spoke her name,

“ _Alice_.”

Then, she knew she had to find him, this mysterious man with the red eyes – which would turn golden in the future.

From that moment on, for the first time since she’d lost him, it was the future she was chasing instead of the past,.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought it would be interesting to write a story where Edward and Jasper's roles were reversed and in this context it made sense. I only edited this briefly, so it it definitely not perfect, but I hope it's still enjoyable. Let me know what you think?


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